A Bunch of Towns

Wednesday, Sept 20th

Ah, today was a great ride for taking in a lot of scenery.  But first, before we set out, I discovered I had a flat tire!  Oh no.  Luckily it was the front tire.  Ed helped me.  He volunteers with Good Karma Bikes and Turning Wheels for Kids. He's a sweetie.  We became fast friends discovering we had a lot in common.  The first part of today's ride involved a climb and I got ahead of a few people but that was short lived.  We also got rained on.  What a way to begin today!  Here we are in charming Occidental stopping for a coffee break.  Miss P bought a dress at a store nearby. 

Crossing the bridge into Monte Rio.  I rode awhile with one of the women -- we were in the back of the pack.  Like yesterday's route, the directions were a bit confusing and we occasionally erred and missed turns but eventually we'd all find one another.  Also, the stronger riders were really nice in waiting for us slow pokes.

A view from the bridge.  Stopping to take photos made me fall farther behind but I had to capture the beauty and the experience.  I recognized this area having done it a long time ago for Levi's Grand Fondo.

We're in Sonoma County after all, gotta take a photo of a vine.  Wow, you could smell the grapes.  Plump, juicy, musty.  We also passed an apple processing plant, probably making applesauce and that smell was strong and pleasant.  We passed Korbel's as well, the champagne winery.  Cool.

We stopped in Guerneville for lunch. We biked along the Russian River, in the woods as we made our way to Forestville and Graton back to the Sebastopol Inn.  Great 46 mile outing. I am a bit frazzled but appreciating the opportunity to be on holiday and getting much needed exercise even if my bum hurts....